Car-brake



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(No Model.)

GAB. BRAKE.

Patented July 10, 1888.

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(N9 Model.)

I. NICHOLSON.

GAR BRAKE.

Ptented July 1o, 1888.

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N. PETERS. Phaevufmmw, wmhingm. D.`c.

UNTTED STATES PATENT Ormes.

ISAAC NICHOLSON, OF SAN FRANCISCO, ASSIGNOR OF ON E-HALF TO OSEPH D.NICHOLSON, OF SIERRA CITY, CALIFORNIA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 336,024, dated July 10,1888.

Application filed February 3, 1888. Serial No. 262.962. (No model.)

T all wwm it may concern:

Be it known that I, lsAAo NIoHoLsoN, a citizen of the United States,residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State ofCalifornia, have invented certain new v and useful Improvements inSelf-ActingRail way-Car Brakes, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in i@ railway-car brakes operatedfrom a sliding draw-head, and which are held out of action by the strainor pulling force upon the drawhead when the train is in motion, but areapplied or caused to act when the motion of the train is checked and thedraw-heads are relieved from such strain or force. v y

The improvements constituting my invention consist in certainconstruction and com bination of levers, drawbars, sliding drawheads,brake-beams, and springs, substantially as hereinafter set forth.

rlhe nature of these improvements and the manner in whichI construct,combine, and apply the same are explained in the following description,in whichthe drawings are referred to by ligures and letters.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through the running-gear and bottomof a railway-car with my improved brake mechanism applied 3o to all thewheels of the trucks. Fig. 2 is a reversed plan or bottom view, theaxle-boxes and other parts of the trucks being omitted for the sake ofclearness. Fig. 3 illustrates a modification in which the spring-powerto throw on and hold the brakes is applied to the levers instead ofdirectly to the brake-beams, this view being a detail of the lever andadjacent part of the draw-bar. Fig. 4l is a longitudinal section througha car-bottom and 4o running-gear with the brake-beams suspended bylinksand the spring applied to the brakelcvers. Fig. 5 is a view of thedraw-bar.

In this invention the brakes are applied and held to the wheels bysprings, which are always in condition to act. By means of levers andconnecting-rods such connection is made with a sliding draw-head on thedraw-bar that a strain or pulling force sustained by the drawhead whichis sufficient to draw the car along 5o will act contrary to the springsand hold ott' the brakes. Provision is made, also, for holding oli thebrakes when a train is to be backed or its direction of travel is to bereversed.

In the construction shown in Fig. l the springs which hold the brakesnormally tothe wheels are applied directly to the brake-beams; but thesame results can be obtainedfby applying the springs at otherpoints--as, for instance, between the corresponding ends ofthe twolevers, as I have illustrated in Fig. 4. As 6o applied to a railway-carof ordinary construction with two swiveled trucks, the draw-bar ateither e'nd of the car operates to hold ofi' the brakes of both trucks.

' The draw-barA worksin guides B B under 65 the platform and carries onthe end projecting beyond the platformv a loose sliding draw-head,

C, having the usual recess, CX, for thelink, and holes C2 for thecoupling-pin.

The draw-bar A runs under the car from end to end and carries aslidingdrawhead-at each end.

The draw-heads have a limited movement on the end of the drawbar, butare held by a stop or shoulder, AX, on the ends. y

DDX are two levers pivote'd in hangers E E, and having their arms ormembers extend-A ing in a. vertical direct-ion above and below thepivots. Direct connection between the lower arm of one lever and thebrake-beam G of 8o the truck nearest to that lever is made by adraw-rod, H. Connection is made in like manner of the lever DX with thebrake-beam of the othertruck bythe rod HX. The'diagonal connecting-rodsF F connect the opposite arms or members of these levers with eachother, the upper end of the lever D with that end of the lever DX whichis below the fulcrum fX, and the lower end of the lever D with the endof the lever DX which is on the 9o opposite side of the fulcrum f. Bythis connection it will be seen that a force'applied to Y the upper endof either one of the levers in an outward direction, or toward the endsof the car, of sufficient degree or power to draw out the bar A, willact to throw inward the ends of the levers on the opposite sides of thefulcrum-points f f X, and consequently to draw the brakes away from thewheels.

The draw-bar may be formed of 4straps or roo bars riveted together andseparated at points a a, to take around the swivetbolts of the trucks,and also in the center of its length to embrace the levers; or it may beone piece with bends or openings formed at these points. In the centerportion, and in position to set behind each lever D DX, is across-piece, A2, on the draw-bar, of such character that it forms a stopto engage the lever. 'Vhen a pulling force is applied to one end ot' thedrawbar, the leading stop A2, or the one nearest that end, is brought upagainst the back of the lever in front of it, and if of sufficientstrength. to overcome the spring-power the lever will be drawn forwardand the brakes held oft' by .virtue ofthe connections between the leversand the beams or levers that carry the brakeshoes. As the two levers DDX are connected together, it l'ollows that the movement of one by theengagement of the drawbar stop with it will act upon the other, and thusoperate both brake -beams or sets of brakes. In like manner a pushingforce applied against either head of the draw-bar will bring a stopagainst the back of one of the levers, and by drawing or pressing thatlever over will also take ott the brakes. .In such ease it is the stopthat is farthest from the point of application of the force which actsupon the farthest lever. To produce this aetion, the sliding draw-headis locked to the draw-bar by means of a pin, F, that is set into holesC, provided for the purpose through the` draw-head and the draw-bar at apoint back of the usual aperture for the coupling-pin. This locking-pinis attached to the platform by a chain, and is al ways at hand for use.In the forward travel of the train the draw-heads are loose and setagainst the stops AX on the ends oi' the draw-bar; butwhen the movementis reversed and it is desired to back the train the draw-head on thefront or leading end of each draw-bar throughout the train is locked tothe bar.

The spring-power can be applied to the brakes either directly to thebrake-beams, as

p I have shown in Figs. l and 2, or indirectly,

as in Figs. 3 and 4. In the first arrangement the springs K K aresecured to the framework oi' the car-bottom at ti, and to the back ofthe brake-beam, while in the other application coil-springs aresubstituted for bar or plate springs, and are applied at suitable pointson thele`vers D D to act upon the brakebeams.

rIhe above-described construction and arrangement of brake mechanism tooperate a set of brakes on theinner wheels of two trucks is the simplestl'orm and application of my improvement; but by a simple combination ofrods and levers, as represented in Figs. l and 4 of the drawings, a setof brakes can be operated at the same time on the outside wheels of thetrucks. In such case the outside brakebcams, GX, will be connected tolevers T by rods S, and these levers, having l'nlcrum in hangers Eft,will be connected to the levers D by rods It, either directly or throughtherods II and the brake-beams G, as shown.

Provision is made for throwing off the brakes by a hand-wheel, byconnecting the end of one lever D to a brake shaft, IV, at the end ofthe platform by means of a rod or chain, X.

From the"foregoing description any person skilled in the art canconstruct and apply my said invention. In the several views ol' theaccompanying drawings only such parts of a car-body and running-gear areshown as are considered necessary to explain the manner of carrying outand operating these improvements in sclf-acting brakes.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a carbrake, the combination of a drawbar, a loose slidingdraw-head, levers D DK, having their contrary arms or the members onopposite sides of the pivots connected together, the brake-beamsconnected to the levers, as described, and springs which are applied tohold the brake-beam normally in action against the wheels of the trucks.

2. In a car-brake, a draw-bar, a sliding cross-head, levers D D", anddiagonal connections F, in combination with brake-beams, which areconnected to the said levers, and springs so applied that they act uponthe brakes to throw and hold them to the wheels when the pulling forceor strain on the drawbar becomes less than thcforce of the springs.

3. In acar-brake, a draw-bar extending from end to end of the car,having a loose sliding draw-head in each end, and stop or projection, incombination with levers set with relation to the drawbar and thesestops, as described, and connecting-rods which connect the leverstogether and to the brake-beams of both trucks, and springs applied tosaid beams or to the levers, as described, tohold the brakes to thewheels for operation, as set forth.

4. In a car-brake spring applied to throw and hold the brakes in actionagainst the wheels, a draw-bar having a loosely-sliding draw-head on theend thereof, lever-eonnee tion between the drawbar and the brake beam orlever, by which a pulling force or strain upon the draw-head acts uponor contrary to the spring force to hold back the brake, and means,substantially as described, for locking the draw-head to the draw-bar,for operation as set forth.

5. In a car-brake, a sliding draw-bar which is connected with thebrakebeams to hold the brakes away from the wheels under the action ofthe pulling force sustained by the draw-bar, a spring applied to actcontrary to such force and hold the brakes against the wheels, and asliding draw'head and a locking-pin, in combination, as set forth.

6. The combination of the pivotcd levers D IIO ment of the slide-barinone direction, as here- A, having stops or projections, as A2, toeninbefore set forth. Io gage the ends of said levers upon the same Intestimony that I claim the foregoing I side of the pivots, and rods H H,connecting have hereunto set my hand and seal.

DX, diagonal connecting-rods F F', sliding bar the opposite ends ormembers of the levers ISAAC NICHOLSON. [L SJ with beams or parts, as GG, to be moved, Witnesses: whereby said parts are simultaneously moved lC. W. M. SMITH,

in opposite directions from arectilinear movei R. H. PEAT.

